End of Year Reflections

As we gathered for our end-of-2024 session, we shared a wonderful time connecting with one another and reflecting on the year that has passed. It was a session filled with honesty, contemplation, and the beauty of sharing. Together, we distilled the year into key words and phrases that encapsulated our collective experiences: friends, the beauty of ordinary gentleness, challenge, chaos and disorder, annus horribilis, and perseverance. These words painted a picture of the struggles and triumphs that shaped our journeys over the last 12 months.

Looking forward, we explored the themes we hope will guide us into 2025. Words like acceptance (while seeking ways to move forward), clarity, spaciousness, facing fears, resolves, hoping for improvement, cleansing, and decluttering resonated deeply. By the end of the session, we were left feeling connected, happy, hopeful, and relaxed, with a greater sense of purpose.

Here are our writings about the year that has gone and our hopes for the future…

Jane Graham

2025

Ambivalence - One step forward. One step back.
Comfort zone or challenge?
Why not make a commitment to yourself?
The rosy image of success may not happen.
Ah, you fear failure.
So what? Remember nothing comes from nothing!
You have family who love you.
They always do whatever you ask.
You have friends who always support you;
They even admire you.
The past was full and rich.
Now I am old and alone.
Can I make my future?
Only if I can accept it might
Not come out as I think
It should!

Lindy Newns

Goodbye 2024, it’s time to leave my rabbit hole.

I spent too much valuable time scrolling for news on the US elections in 2024 and what now looks very like genocide in Gaza; I am determined not to continue speculating what the results of both mean for the planet, for global relations, for respect for love and justice. It’s a rabbit warren without end, and what is the point of getting stuck somewhere in the dark, with the hounds of fear, gloom and anxiety panting there by the entrance, ready to pounce as soon as they see my little whiffling whiskers appear?

The truth is, although we frame our lives as stories, real lives don’t work like that. I can look back and try and frame my life as having beginning, middle and end, but there are so many things I can’t predict or control, that speculating about them is pointless.

And you know what? Other people may think very differently about things, and it behoves me to listen and to try and understand their point of view, instead of retreating to my own echo chamber where I only hear and see the things tech companies want me to hear and see, and that because they want to make yet bigger profits from the sale of my data.  

There’s no question that life is hard for many, but I see so many random acts of kindness here in Manchester and in the world at large!

I am hosting another refugee, and, like Faraj, he tells me that the British are not racist. This gives me pause. Two young men from different countries and with totally different religions and characters think my countrymen are tolerant and kind. And after much pondering, I do believe they are.

Just take one example. When the hostel housing refugees was evacuated after the flooding just as 2025 began, the local mosque took in 400 souls, and by the early hours of the morning, all but 2 of them had been offered places to stay by local people and the place was inundated by offers of bedding and food.

It makes me proud that my neighbours, my countrymen and women, are prepared to open hearts and pockets in support of strangers and are still listening, not to big tech, but to the still, small voice of love. It’s more than time to leave my rabbit hole!

Jean Byrne

Reflections on 2024 and thoughts on the year ahead

Looking back on the past year I am mainly grateful to have a supportive family and close friends with whom I have shared many joyful experiences. Since losing the structure and sense of purpose that paid work brings, joining a number of local groups has been very important to my emotional wellbeing.

Being a member of a friends of parks group, community choir and a craft group at the local library has enabled me to make many friends and volunteer at quite a few community events. This brings a sense of achievement and of helping to make our small part of the world a better place to live. I feel lucky to live in an area where there are so many groups and an invisible network of people willing to volunteer their time to make a difference.

Through doing some public concerts this year the choir has raised £500 in donations for the Community Centre to buy a new fridge and kitchen equipment. The craft group has regularly had a stall at the monthly Stretford Socials in support of our local shopping centre. We also took part in the St Matthews Church Christmas Tree Festival

We decided to decorate our tree with birds to illustrate some of the many different crafts we have tried in the club. This includes paper crafts, decoupage, crochet, knitting, patchwork, hand and machine sewing, embroidery and cross stich. The members made most of the decorations including knitted tinsel and used some recycled materials. We received a certificate for being voted the prettiest tree at the festival.

Recently I visited one of the members of the Craft Club who had a fall and broke her right hand. When I went into her home I immediately felt a sense of peace and tranquillity. There was no clutter and everything seemed to be in its right place. Even with a broken hand she was managing to keep her home perfectly tidy.

It made me think about how untidy my house is and how much clutter has accumulated through living in the same place for 32 years. My resolution for the New Year is to de-clutter and cleanse our nest of everything we don’t need. This will allow me to create a space of my own to keep the sewing machine out and finish any half-done projects.

Patrick Steel

Stop the world, I want to get off!   Maybe it’s an age thing, but during 2024, things seem to be crazier and faster. Actually, I read it is due to aging. The science has something to do with our greater capacity to process events when we’re younger. I mean when I was young, there was the Cuban Missile Crisis and similar things going on all the time, but I seemed to take it all in my stride. A neighbour said she doesn’t watch the news on TV anymore. Well, that’s one way of coping. 

The weather has been more extreme though. Witness the flooding on New Year’s Eve. The culmination to the year of storms and freak weather throughout the planet. I know it’s Manchester, the rainy city. But that deluge was over the top of the Bridgewater canal, which is too close to home. Some say it’s climate change although the politicians don’t seem able to get to grips with that. Maybe it’s because big business can push back harder. I hope the developers don’t keep building new houses in areas prone to flooding. I know there’s pressure to meet housing targets for the growing population numbers, but that seems counterproductive. 

Wars have spread from Ukraine to the Middle East and with political and international connections, everything affects Manchester. That’s even with Brexit! Hasn’t Boris been very quiet lately. It’s hard to believe that the conflict in Ukraine has been going on for two years now. The hope is that someone of substance will finally come along and broker peace.  Not just there, but in any region of the world where conflict arises. 

After the world slowed down with Covid, we had the cost-of-living crisis. And then all the sudden disasters on top of that. What was encouraging and inspiring is how local communities can pull together when facing adversity to help each other. What will 2025 bring? I think that what 2024 showed is that, if we decide to stick around, we should expect the unexpected! Let’s try and buckle up for a wild ride!

Tony Goulding

New Year Reflections

In the final session of 2024, the group was encouraged to look back at how the year coming to an end had been and what our hopes and aspirations were for 2025.

2024 has been globally a very eventful year with tragic wars continuing in the Ukraine and The Middle East, with both conflicts threatening to escalate. There have also been new governments elected in the U.K and the U.S.A. I have no great expectations of the coming year in terms of these events. However, not all is gloom and despondency indeed to paraphrase Charles Dicken’s opening to “Tale of Two Cities” – “2024 was the worst of times; 2024 was the best of times”. It is important for me to remember that is how I behave towards other people, something I can exert some control over, that is most important. As a corollary of this also focusing less on world events which only feeds my frustration.

2024 had some great moments for me along with a few which were not so good. Choosing to recall these times helps me to be more positive looking forward. Last year I went on my first proper holiday in many years courtesy of my friend Andrea persuading me to accompany her to Tenerife. Another highlight was my presentation to the group on the topic of attending an event, I so enjoyed delving into my sporting and other memorabilia.

Looking forward I hope I continue to remain fit and healthy enough to continue my involvement in the several activities I currently engage in. Maybe also on occasion stretch my comfort zone by trying something new. On that last note, Andrea has plans to get me into painting; something I haven’t done since my first year in secondary school but something I have occasionally considered taking up. She also has other travel plans for us! It will be interesting to see how 2025 develops!

Jolene Sheehan

Reflecting on 2024, I am struck by how much the year has brought in terms of external success and productivity. It has been a year of achievement, creativity, and growth through meaningful, connecting and innovative work. I am deeply grateful for the amazing participants, partnerships, and support that have made this possible.

Yet, beyond this fruitfulness, what I find myself dwelling on most are the roots beneath this growth: what it took for me to be able to do these things. I am filled with appreciation for all the quiet, ordinary moments of gentleness have provided space for reflection and rest, sustaining me between these outward expressions.

These moments—a walk alone or with friends, early nights, the comfort of connecting with loved ones, creating art or simply sitting in stillness—have been increasingly essential for my wellbeing. They remind me that while work and action can be fulfilling, they are only made possible by times of pause and the beauty of the ordinary. These are what keep me grounded and happy.

Looking ahead to 2025, my intention is to continue cultivating these roots. I want to embrace acceptance and clarity, and I intend to meet the year with the courage to prioritise these moments even more—even as they might not always be validated by external standards. I will continue to enjoy the small, quiet moments, allowing them to fuel the more active ones, and simply cherish them for how good they make me feel.

Pauline Omoboye

When joining Stories of our Lives 
I didn't know what lay ahead
I didn't know some of the sessions would be members-led
I didn't realise the learning and the friendships made
or amongst the words I would playfully wade.
However, guided by a vision and an ethos full of good advice
I knew I wanted to earn my place as I had earned a slice.
With grace each session guided by Jolene, gave us a voice
And enriched our experiences for here we had a choice.
I joined with no expectations
I joined as I love to write
And with each week came a different revelation, a new insight
Topics suggested by the group sparked off conversation
Producing individual contributions, a different revelation
I would treasure each and every week as our confidence would be raised
Happy hormones were released, and positive affirmations were made
So now I take this opportunity to reflect on the year just past
As I know the skills I've gained, and the friendships made to last
So, to every budding artist with the urge to write and earn so much more
Come along and join us at Stories of our lives as there's always room for more.
 
©Pauline Omoboye